we love thanksgiving!
we are really thankful for (in no particular order)
God's amazing love to us
new baby
turkey
the queen
hospitals
adventures
faithful friends
(she may not thank me for posting this, but I think it really captures mags' glow)
we thank God for an amazing new baby boy, born today!
he arrived around 8.30pm and weighed 3.22 kg (about 7 pounds 2 ounces)
we're all doing really well and are super excited
phil got a treat today...
a trip to brighton to meet baby adam
(and yes, he is gorgeous!)
massive congratulations today
to marianne and farid on the birth of baby adam
also to simon and lizzie and zac on the birth of baby grace tiggy
happy birthday olivia! happy wedding day michelle and joe!
we love you and we're sorry we can't be with you today
we pray you'll each have one really special day!
with:
1 big white van
2 year old girl
4 kitchen appliances
5 potty breaks
16 hours on the road
32 armchairs
m62 closure at saddleworth moor
600 miles of driving
not to mention:
no nervous breakdown
loads of laughter
skye driving the van on the motorway (while crawling in queues)
proper good dad/daughter bonding
finding grandparents' new house in the dark
the most beautiful sunset & sunrise
yorkshire
had a fun time at the zoo this afternoon
bonus points if you can name the animal bottom right...
mal and I had the most amazing day with our friends from causeway coast vineyard today, taking our tally to two weddings in one weekend
it was one of those powerful 'God is in the house' experiences as we shared in a very special wedding ceremony, held during their worship service this morning
the couple being married told their stories of desperate brokeness and God's redemption with a video beforehand, and seeing them in leathers and tattoos and beaming with love made us cry our eyes out
it's great to have her here and she got the full us diplomatic limousine treatment...
last night we had a fantastic time with the lovely mr and mrs greggers and soph
now we're looking forward to a few days away and some deep r&r....
(we promise we'll add more about what we've been up to when we're back)
phew! sorry to be out of contact recently, it's been a mad few days - oops, weeks!
the stuff we shipped arrived in brizzle (translation: bristol) today! woohoo!
phil had fun carrying boxes all afternoon with three lovely removals men (translation: shipping company employees) all the while blocking the street and neighbours driveways with a massive lorry (translation: truck)
if only cho seung-hui had heard someone say to him
'there is no one like you
there has never been anyone like you'
maybe then he'd have been able to hear the next line too
'there is no one like our God, yeah
we're not alone, so sing along'
something to ponder in monday's day of blog silence?
woohoo! huge congratulations to jean and francis on the birth of their little baby girl today in bombay, india
(actually the headline should be mum-bai-by - they haven't announed the baby's name yet!)
hard to swallow the news from virginia tech
especially with sad anniversaries this week
thursday is 12 years from the oklahoma city bombing and friday is 8 years from the columbine school shootings
landed in the sooner state today with mal
it's my thirteenth state (airports don't count)
rocked out the lightsey chapel auditorium at csu tonight
here's the playlist:
here i am send me
rain down
did you feel the mountains tremble? (with crazy dancing and d:kids)
solid rock
now is the time
take off my shoes
over the mountains and the sea (acoustic with rebecca st james)
history maker (isaiah 61 from the message, holy is the lord reprise)
majesty
investigate
paint the town red (encore)
he is risen indeed!
(and he's shivering)
we enjoyed a beautiful (and very chilly) easter service at boone hall this morning
here's a well-wrapped skye and mags with best pals elizabeth and annie grace
it's great having the perry-smith family staying
had an adventure in the park today including chasing alligators
watched this well-constructed, provocative movie last night on nigel's recommendation. the story explores terrorism and responses to it, particularly the effect on individuals involved in the responses. was struck by big themes of reaping and sowing, identity, home, nationality, love and loyalty
am struck by jesus' words on reinstating peter in chapter 21 that when he's old, 'someone else will lead you where you do not want to go'
jesus paints a picture of radical maturity for his followers - letting go of the control we desire and allowing others to set the agenda
so easy to talk about in good times (so hard to do when tired or ticked off)
walked up a steep hill today to teach 400 kids to spit
(we also gave out toothbrushes, did flouride treatments and talked about jesus)
the view back over quito was breathtaking
it's not fancy, but it is functional
this is one of the two dental clinics that the team operated during the week offering free cleaning, fillings and extractions to the people of quito
is a really lovely ecuadorean guy who is translating for us this week
we thank God for him (translating can be a thankless task, like toothache, you only notice when things go wrong!)
this week mags is in mississippi (the state with the best name!)
she's part of a group from church doing rebuilding work after hurricane katrina
since the day that I was born
I’ve never known a time like this
I don’t wanna let you down
I will sing, sing for your light has come
© Delirious? ©2005 Curious? Music UK
took place this evening
we went out to the beach, but didn't see it because of all the clouds
skye said, 'no moo, bye bye moo'
(we know it was amazing 'cos rich told us about it from sheffield)
...we are planning to move back to england
the excitement is working closely with our dear friends mal and chriscelle calladine
the prayer is kingdom come
the adventure is fresh expressions of church
the location is bristol in south-west england
the timescale is may
the future is bright!
the sadness is leaving lots of great people and places here
the joy is watching new leaders take our work further than we can
